Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Slender Silhouette sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua
sweet gum brunswick park skdavidson. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeskdavidson ↗ · CC-BY-SA 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Exceptionally narrow native cultivar; fruit production can occur, so place thoughtfully.
Five to seven pointed lobes radiate like a star and have toothed edges. Alternate leaves separate sweetgum from most maples.
More growing details
Read the bark
Mature bark is gray-brown and furrowed; some twigs develop corky wings.
Fruit & seed
Round prickly woody fruit heads persist into winter; the narrow cultivar still requires cultivar-specific expectations.
Winter character
Persistent spiky fruit heads and sometimes corky twigs help identify bare trees.
Origin & place
The species occurs naturally in the southern Appalachian region; a planted specimen is not evidence of wild local origin.
Compare with Maples
Maples have opposite leaves and paired samaras rather than spiny balls.
WNC Notes
Exceptionally narrow native cultivar; fruit production can occur, so place thoughtfully.
Sun Exposure
Full sun–part shade
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
50–60
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
4–6
BLOOM SEASON
Spring
BLOOM COLOR
Catkins
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Yellow-brown
Wet-Soil Tolerance
Moderate–high
Drought Tolerance
Low
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
sweet gum brunswick park skdavidson. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeskdavidson ↗ · CC-BY-SA 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Ridged bark of sweetgum — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeskdavidson ↗ · CC-BY-SA 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.Spiky seed pods or gumballs and greenish yellow flower clusters — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeCathy deWitt ↗ · CC BY 4.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
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